Machine for splitting and cutting leather.



W. B. KEIGHLEY.

MACHINE POR SPLITTING AND CUTTING LEATHER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 31, 1910.

Patented Feb. 23, 1915.

THE NURRIS PETERS Co PHom-UTHO., wm,mmm-.uv

WILLIAM BOTTOMLEY KEIGHLEY, OF VINELAND, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE KEIGI-ILEY COMPANY, INC., GF VINELAND, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

MACHINE FOR SPLITTIN Gr AND CUTTING LEATHER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 23, 1915.

l Application filed March 31, 1910. Serial No; 552,648.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, WILLIAM B. KEIGHLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing in Vineland, New Jersey, have invented certain Improvements in Machines for Splitting and Cutting Leather, of which the following is a specification.

One object of my invention is to provide an attachment for a band knife whereby this may be conveniently and efliciently utilized for splitting, skiving, or beveling soles, insoles, counters, boX toes and the like; the construction being such as will permit the device being adjusted to operate on material of different thicknesses. I further desire that the arrangement of parts shall be such as will be relatively'simple and substantial while being capable of rapidly beveling or splitting the articles presented to the knife.

Another object of the invention is to provide a band knife with an attachment whereby it shall be possible to simultaneously cut or bevel two portions of the material under treatment or to cut the material with a concave or a convex surface.

These objects and other advantageous ends I secure as hereinafter set forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1, is a front elevation of a splitting or beveling attachment constructed according to my invention; Fig. 2, is a plan of the apparatus shown in Fig. .1; Fig. 3, is a slightly modified form of the invention especially adapted for beveling; Figs. L1 and 5 are respectively a front elevation and a -plan of a simplified form of the invention; Figs. 6 and 7, are respectively a front elevation and a plan illustrating another modification; Fig. 8, is a vertical section on the line a-a, Fig. 7, and Figs. 9 and 10, are respectively a sectional elevation and a sectional plan of the band knife used with those forms of my machine shown in the otherl figures when it is desired to simultaneously cut a piece at two points or to give it a curved surface.,

In the above drawings, 1 represents a portion of one run lof a band knife and 2 is a table or other suitable supporting structure immediately adjacent the same. On this table is mounted a bracket Shaving bearings for shafts 4, 5, and 6, of which the first is provided with a pulley wheel 7 connected to any suitable source of power and also has fixed to it a pinion 8. The shaft 6 likewise carries a pinion 9, as well as a vertically placed roll 10 of rubber or other slightly yieldable material. A pinion 11, mounted on the shaft 5, operatively connects the pinions 8 and 9 so that they and the roll 10 are driven from the pulley 7. A gage or guide 12 is adjustably mounted on a bracket 18 fixed to the table 2, so that said gage may be moved toward and from the band knife, with which it extends substantially parallel. This gage is spaced away from the band knife a distance substantially equal to the thickness to which it is desired to split the material operated on, and in order that the latter may more easily pass between the knife and said gage or guide, I mount a small supporting wheel 14 so that it will provide a rest for one edge of said material. As shown, the gage is mounted to slide in the bracket 13 under the action of an adjusting screw 15 so that the turning of the latter will vary the distance of said gage from the knife and cause the finished product to be of the thickness desired.

In that form of the invention shown in Fig. 3, I have replaced the stationary gage 12 by a roll 12a, which in effect constitutes an anti-friction gage, and mount this upon a spindle 16 having a driving pulley 17 for the reception of a belt 18 connected to a suitable source of power. This shaft 16 is supported in a structure pivoted at 19 to asupporting bracket 13a; the pivot being so placed that said shaft 16 and with it the roll 12a, may be adjusted at any desired angle to the general line of the band knife 1 in order to produce any required bevel on the material operated on. For varying this angle and for retaining the roller in any position to which it is adjusted, I provide two set screws 20 and 21 placed to engage an arm 22 connected to the structure in which the spindle 16 is mounted. In addition, I so mount the bracket lL that it may be adjusted toward and from the band knife and hold it in place by means of a screw 15a.

As before, I preferably provide a supporting wheel 141 for the edge of the material operated on, and in this case, as well as in that illustrated in Figs. 1 or 2, the sole or other body to be split or beveled is passed between the knife and the gage or abutment 12a; being held firmly in engagement with the latter. The band knife operating in the well known manner, then splits the body of leather into two parts, of which the main portion designed for future use, passes between the gage 12 or l2 and the knife, while the part split off embeds itself in the soft roll 10 and passes between this and the knife, being directed to one side by a wedge shaped guide piece 23a (Fig. 2).

A simpler form of the invention is shown in Figs. 4 and 5, in which the roll 10 is omitted and the gage or abutment is in the form of a fiat plate indicated at l2". As before, I preferably use the supporting wheel as a bearing for one edge of the sole, although in every instance this may be omitted if desired without affecting the other features of my invention. The gage is preferably so mounted that it may be adjusted bodily toward and from the knife by a screw 15b and in this form of the device, as well as in that shown in Figs. G to 8, I preferably piace a wedge shaped block 23 to the rear and to one side of the band knife 1. Immediately in the rear of said knife I mount a plate 24 (Figs. 7 and 8) designed to bear against the rear edge thereof and adjustable toward and from the same so as to retain the cutting edge in its proper working position even after it wears. In order to permit of this adjustment of the plate I provide it with slots 27 for the reception of the screws 25, as indicated in Fig. 8, and mount between it and the gage 12b, a second wedge shaped guide piece 30.

In the modification shown in Figs. 6 to 8, the end of the gage 12b is beveled so as to best fit into and guide the work operated on. In this case I have omitted the means whereby the abutment may be bodily adjusted toward and from the band knife,

although if desired this may be provided as shown in the others of the figures.

In Figs. 9 and l0, I have illustrated the band knife as provided with a pair of guiding jaws 31 and 32, together forming a channel in which said knife is so held as to be compelled for a greater or less distance, to follow a curved course; it being understood that for this purpose the knife is supported on its-carrying and driving wheels in a sufficiently loose condition. llhere is thus provided a cutting edge having a predetermined curved form, so that, for example, a sole whose edges are to be beveled, may be presented in an end-on position and in a plane substantially parallel to the general line of the band knife so as to be brought into contact with its cutting edge at two places, indicated at .fc and m, which are inclined in opposite directions to the general line of the knife. As a consequence, both edges of said sole are simultaneously beveled or out as it is moved across the knife, so that the work of beveling is reduced practically one half. A piece of material may be so presented to the cutting edge of the knife that it is engaged by a greater or less length of the curved portion of the cutting edge, whereby the finished article is given a single curved surface whose contour may obviously be varied within wide limits by altering the shape of or adjusting the cutting jaws.

I claim:

l. The combination in a machine for splitting leather, of a supporting structure; a flexible band knife; a driven roll mounted adjacent thereto; a bracket mounted on the supporting structure; a structure pivotally mounted on the bracket and provided with shaft bearings and an arm; a shaft mounted in said bearings; a roll on the shaft; and two adjusting screws engaging opposite sides of the arm of the vstructure for turning it on its pivot to vary the position of the roll carried by it relatively to the knife and to the other roll.

2. The combination in a leather splitting machine; of a supporting frame; a flexible band knife thereon; a roller mounted on the frame adjacent to the knife; a bracket pivotally carried by the frame and having a shaft; a roller on the shaft extending adjacent to the first roller; and an edge supporting wheel mounted with its axis extending in a line substantially at right angles to the axis of the second roller; said wheel being mounted adjacent the pivot of the bracket at one end of the pair of rollers.

3. The combination in a machine for splitting leather, of a supporting frame; a band knife mounted thereon; and means for giving a curved outline to said knife; consisting of a pair of plates on opposite sides Gopes of this patent may be obtained for ive cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of ratents,

Washington, D. C. 

